Rough days come in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes they’re caused by people or stressors outside of ourselves; sometimes they’re caused by what’s within. Sometimes both. Sometimes they freeze us so completely we can’t go forward or backward. Sometimes they last 72 hours. I’ve been having one of those days, but I’m inching my way... Continue Reading →

It somehow seems logical, doesn’t it, that the introduction and relief of physical pain would mimic the same in emotional pain? And that, therefore, existing emotional pain might find relief in the introduction and removal of physical pain. It doesn’t, though. It doesn’t even make the emotional pain more tangible. Instead, it just tears the... Continue Reading →

Self-compassion is not something I offer myself naturally. I have to stop and deliberately think about it. Every. Single. Time. And even that’s difficult. I don’t always remember to stop and think before I criticize or am unkind to myself. And sometimes I just can’t accomplish it, even when I do think about it. It’s... Continue Reading →

What if there was a remedy for shame? What if we were all capable of administering it? What if we all did? My sister shamed me today. Not directly. It was a share on Facebook, a passive-aggressive slap of her sister’s face: Marriage isn’t 50-50. Divorce is 50-50. Marriage has to be 100-100. It isn’t... Continue Reading →